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About Us

Eastern is a Christian university of the arts and sciences dedicated through teaching, scholarship, service, spiritual formation, student development and societal involvement to the preparation of undergraduate and graduate students for thoughtful and productive lives of Christian faith and service. We achieve our mission when our students develop a Christian world view; sharpen their understanding and skills of critical thinking, reflection, analysis and communication; demonstrate knowledge and competencies in the liberal arts, the natural and social sciences and their major fields of study; experience genuine Christian community in a supportive environment which enables personal and spiritual growth; participate in opportunities for meaningful service; and grow in their love of God and neighbors. The foundational assumptions with which we approach our tasks are:

Our Commitment To Scholarship And Teaching
We believe in the unity of God's truth, whether supernaturally revealed or humanly discovered, and we value the search for knowledge and understanding in all areas of life. We are guided by our faith in Jesus Christ who is "The way, the truth and the life." As an educational community we seek to develop leadership and innovation, sound scholarship, original research and publications, and appropriate relevance as we maintain a high priority on excellence in teaching. We value highly the integration of Christian faith and learning in all academic disciplines and in the development of a Christian world view.

Our Commitment To Scripture
We recognize the Bible, composed of the Old and New Testaments, as inspired of God and as the supreme and final authority in faith and life. We submit ourselves to carrying out our mission under its authority and seek to apply biblical principles to all facets of human aspiration and action.

Our Commitment To The Church
We affirm our conviction that the Church of Jesus Christ, as a visible community of believers inclusive of persons of all cultures, races and nationalities, is central to faithful obedience in living the Christian life and advancing the work of the Gospel. We highly value our established relationship with the American Baptist Churches in the USA. We seek to maintain and strengthen this relationship while we also serve the larger Church in ways appropriate to our mission.

Our Commitment To Evangelism
We affirm the importance of calling all persons in this country and around the world to personal faith and faithful discipleship in following Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. We intend for every student to have a meaningful and appropriate opportunity to hear and respond to the call for repentance, faith and obedience to Jesus Christ.

Our Commitment To Justice
We acknowledge with sorrow the brokenness of the world at personal, national, and international levels, and we seek to work for justice, reconciliation and Christian transformation in all arenas of life. We particularly seek to work with and for poor, oppressed and suffering persons as part of our Christian discipleship. As part of this commitment, we seek to provide educational opportunities and financial resources to attend a private Christian college.

Our Commitment To The World
We affirm that Christ calls us to concern, understanding and involvement in the world, both near at hand in Philadelphia and the Main Line, and to far distant places around the globe. This includes work done in various careers and in volunteer service, in traditional Christian missions and in newly emerging forms of Christian service in a globally interdependent world. We seek to encourage each other as "ambassadors for Christ" and "agents of reconciliation" in a world torn apart by conflict and bound together throughout the world but also for the earth itself as responsible stewards of the environment and other physical resources.